According to San Francisco-based WorldGroup, InsureWorx is expected to generate "revenues of over $40 million in 2005."

Mr. Sherne, who was president and CEO of WorldGroup, will continue as president and CEO of InsureWorx. Jim Haley, founder of Denver-based Taliant, will serve as chief marketing officer for InsureWorx, while Neil Baker, Taliant's CEO, has joined the InsureWorx board of directors.

The new company will be headquartered in Emeryville, Calif., with Taliant's Denver offices serving as "a major development center," Mr. Sherne said.

InsureWorx currently has a staff of about 250, and "there weren't any layoffs really," despite the fact that there was "a little redundancy in terms of programs" between the two companies, he explained. The company will be trying to "fill a couple of additional slots," including the hiring of a general counsel, he added.

"Workers' comp is our current major line of business," Mr. Sherne said. "We've become the dominant player in that market through the combination of the companies." InsureWorx will market a "complete, end-to-end" enterprise software product to insurance companies. The company will also have products in other commercial lines and offer an "integrated benefits" product that includes group life, group disability, short- and long-term medical insurance, and more, he noted.

Both companies had offered products based on the J2EE platform (which links users to legacy information systems), "and that's part of the synergy," said Mr. Sherne. There are no plans to offer products based on Microsoft's competing .NET platform, he added.

InsureWorx will continue to be privately held by its ultimate parent, WorldGroup Holdings Ltd., said WorldGroup.